


A Helping Hand

by YohKoBennington



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Jared is awesome, M/M, hurt!Jensen, temporary disabled character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-29
Updated: 2016-03-29
Packaged: 2018-05-29 21:49:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6395176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YohKoBennington/pseuds/YohKoBennington
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He just has to keep moving. Keep walking until somebody finds him. Because if he stops, he might lose consciousness, and who knows what will happen if he does.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Helping Hand

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 2016 spn-masquerade round.
> 
> Thank you to ferrous-wheeler for the quick beta <3

He just has to keep moving.

Keep walking until somebody finds him. Because if he stops, he might lose consciousness, and who knows what will happen if he does. He keeps telling himself that someone has to drive by this road at some point. Or at least he hopes he's back on the road. His head keeps pounding like his brain wants to come out of his skull, and he's pretty sure he must have cracked at least one rib if breathing hurts so much.

But he has to keep going, because the alternative is so much worse. He just doesn't know how long he will be able to push himself before it's too late. He doesn't know if all his efforts are helping or taking him further away from what he needs.

Suddenly he can feel the ground shaking. It's subtle, a tickle against the sole of his sneakers, but it's there. He stops walking, turning around trying to hear where the sound of the car… truck?, is coming from. As the noise comes closer, he suddenly panics. What if he's in the way and the driver doesn't see him in time? He has been walking aimlessly for who knows how long, and lost any sense of direction with how much the pain in his head has taken over his senses. It will be just his luck, what with the way his day is going already, that he will be run over and end up dead to finish it off.

To his surprise, beyond the drums playing inside his head, he can hear the squeaky noise of brakes very close by. He freezes. It also occurs to him that he's defenseless, and whoever this stranger is - and that has obviously spotted him - they could do whatever they wanted with him. Not that he has much on him. He lost his wallet and cellphone somewhere when everything went to hell, and his jogging clothes could barely hold anything else.

“Hey, are you alright?” The voice startles him. The driver must have stopped right next to him, with how clear and strong he can hear his voice. He debates answering. If he does, he might be falling into the mouth of the wolf. If he doesn't, he's never going to make it back home. Either way, he might be screwed.

“I—” he stutters not knowing what to say, where to start.

There's another squeaky sound, then a bang, and there are steps coming towards him. He fights his instinct to back away when a hand comes to rest on his shoulder.

“Jesus christ, is that blood?” The stranger says, alarmed. “Dude, please say something.”

“I fell.”

“Where? Into the Grand Canyon?” The stranger quips. “You look like shit.”

He frowns. He must look as bad as he feels. “Uh, thank you?”

“Sorry, that was rude,” the stranger apologizes. “I think you should sit down.”

He started to shake his head, but it sends a stabbing pain that felt like his brain was being smashed against a wall repeatedly. “No....I can't. I've gotta keep going.”

“You're about to pass out, I don't think you can keep going like this.” The stranger tries to reason with him.

That's when he realizes that the hand on his shoulder is what's keeping him upright. If the stranger takes that hand back, he's face-planting onto the road in a second. He's so tired, and this kind sounding stranger is just trying to help him. He can't understand why, maybe it's how warm the hand is against his shoulder and the soft and sincere candor of the voice, but he's starting to feel like he can trust this guy.

“What else hurts?” the stranger says suddenly. He frowns, and finds he can't do that either without wanting to claw out his face. “It's obvious you hit your head, there's blood all over your face. I think it's coming from you hairline.” The stranger keeps commenting like he's taking inventory.

“I don't even know your name,” he answers instead.

“Oh, sorry, how inconsiderate of me. I'm Jared Padalecki. What's yours?”

“Jensen, Jensen Ackles.”

“Alright, Jensen, can you please tell me where else you’re hurt?”

Jensen's arm around his torso tightens unconsciously. “Uh, my ribs. Left side. I think I might’ve cracked one...or two.”

A hand is on his arm immediately, and Jensen tenses.

“It's okay, I'm not going to touch it.” Jared assures him. “Anything else?”

Yeah, the most important thing, and that Jensen has been trying not to think about.

“Jensen?”

“I can't—“ Jensen swallows, his voice wavering with the next words. “I can't see.”

 

~*~

Jensen allows Jared to drag him inside his vehicle, which has to be a truck because he has to take a step up to get in. Once inside, Jensen feels the truck moving and he panics a little again.

“Where are we going?” he says, grabbing the door handle, ready to bolt.

“Hey, relax. I'm taking us back to the city. You need a hospital.” Jared reassures.

“How do I know you're actually taking me to the hospital?”

“You will have to trust me.”

“I don't _know_ you.”

“That can be fixed.” Jared says matter-of-factly, and proceeds to tell Jensen that he's from San Antonio. He has two siblings, his mother is a retired teacher and his father has his own business. He moved to Austin for school for civil engineering, and ended up staying when he got an internship that later became his job when he graduated. “I’ve got two dogs, Sadie and Harley. Don't have anyone to come home to — it’s been almost a year - and I totally swing both ways, in case you were wondering.”

Jensen has no choice but to be amused at all the information and at how much Jared can babble in seconds. He starts to relax again, letting Jared talk all he wants as he concentrates on trying to keep his head from exploding.

He feels a hand on his shoulder shaking him, and Jensen flails a little. “Hey, none of that. You gotta stay awake until we're there.”

Jensen clears his throat. “Right.”

“Can you tell me what happened to you?”

Jensen thinks about it— it's harder than he expected. “I come to jog around the hills every day. All I remember is waking up lying on grass and realizing I couldn't see. I don't know… it's all a mess in my head right now.”

“Okay. Don't worry, I'm sure you’ll remember and your blindness is just temporary,” Jared says. And he's so sure of himself that all Jensen wants is to believe him.

But what if he doesn't see ever again?

“Jensen,” Jared's hand now lands on his. “It's going to be fine. Breathe.”

Jensen inhales, shakily, and then lets the air out slowly, trying to keep calm.

“There you go.”

Jensen can't see him, but he somehow can hear the warm smile in Jared's voice. “Thank you for helping me.”

“Don't mention it.” Jared pats Jensen's hand then moves it away. Jensen feels the loss immediately and finds himself wishing Jared had kept his hand on his.

“We're almost there,” Jared announces, bringing Jensen out of his thoughts.

He starts dreading having to deal with the doctors all alone. Because surely, Jared will just drop him off, and as soon as Jensen is in a doctor's hands he will continue with his day as if nothing happened.

Jensen saddens, thinking he will never get to meet with Jared again, which is the craziest thing he's ever felt because he literally doesn't know this good Samaritan of a man. But Jared, with his calm demeanor and soft voice, has helped Jensen to stay calm, and he wishes he could get to know him better. He seems the kind of person that Jensen would easily get along with, be good friends with; maybe even more.

But today is not his lucky day, so when they finally reach the hospital he's already prepared himself to confront what comes next all alone.

 

~*~

Jensen is surprised again when Jared doesn't leave.

He distracts Jensen with stories while he gets stitches on his head.

He stays while they run tests on Jensen for hours.

He watches over Jensen when he finally succumbs to the tiredness and falls sleep.

He's there every time Jensen is woken up during the night.

And when Jensen wakes up the next morning, the nurse tells him Jared is still in the room, asleep on the chair.

Something in Jensen grows inside his chest with every act of kindness that Jared throws his way, and he starts to believe that maybe his luck isn't so bad after all.

 

~*~

The doctors tell Jensen the blindness is being caused by a part of his brain swelling from the impact of whatever he hit his head on. He has to stay until the swelling is down, and they're hoping the blindness will disappear once that happens.

Jensen is scared that won't be the case.

“Don't think that way. They told you, it's temporary. You'll be fine.”

“You don't know that.”

“You gotta have faith, Jensen.”

Jensen wants to, but he also has to think about what his life will be if he doesn't recover his sight again.

“You know, I've told you a lot about me and I still don't know much about you. I let it pass because you were all concussed and bleeding, but I think it's only fair that now you tell me something about yourself.” Jared says, and Jensen can tell he's just changing the subject to keep him calm.

Jensen decides worrying is not going to change the outcome of what his life is going to be from now on. “You're right. _Extremely impolite of me,_ ” he jokes “I'm an engineer too. Mechanical engineer. I've two siblings too, and I'm from Dallas originally. Went to school there and then transferred here for work. I don't have dogs, but I do love them. And, since you're going to be wondering and you gave me the information first, I do too— swing both ways, that is.”

Jared laughs at that, and Jensen loves the sound of it.

“Well, thank you for telling me. It's very important information.”

“I just realized that you're here and probably missing work because of me. You don't have to stay, I'm sure the nurse has already contacted my friend.” Jensen says, even though the last thing he wants is for Jared to leave.

“Shit, you're right.”

Jensen hears some ruffling, and then the tones of a cellphone being dialed. He stays silent as Jared talks to someone on the phone, and waits until he hangs up.

“So, you're leaving?”

“Not until your friends get here. I called my friend to excuse me at work and to feed and let my dogs out until I get home,” Jared explains.

“You didn't have to do that.”

Jared's hand is on his suddenly, and he squeezes it softly. “I wanted to.”

Jensen can't help but smile.

 

~*~

At some point Jensen must have fallen asleep, because when he wakes up Jared is gone. Instead, Chris is the one sitting next to his bed. Happy as he is to have his friend with him, Jensen feels the loss immediately, and as the day goes by he misses Jared with every fiber of his being.

He can't understand how he feels so strongly for someone he's never seen, but there they are and he can't stop having them.

By the third day in the hospital the swelling in his brain goes completely down and, to his big relief, his sight comes back. He's sent home the next day with instructions on how to take care of his cracked rib and his head wound. All the time he's wishing Jared had stayed longer so he could finally see him.

“Oh, by the way. That dude that brought you to the hospital left you this with me.” Chris suddenly says once Jensen is settled on his bed.

He hands a white card to Jensen who doesn't waste any time to read it.

Its front reads what must be the company Jared works for, with his work and cellphone number. When he turns it, there's an address scribbled in messy writing and a message that reads “For when you feel better”. Jensen’s heart flutters and he smiles widely.

“Uh oh, I know that smile. Were you hitting on a complete stranger while you were blind?” Chris says, amused. “Jensen fucking Ackles, I can't believe you.”

Jensen laughs.

 

~*~

He doesn't go to the address right away— no matter how much he wants to. Jensen waits until he doesn't look like death warmed over to drive to the address and finally meet Jared again.

Anticipation of how things could go makes his stomach twist and turn. He hopes he's not making a big mistake.

When he rings the bell, barking is followed by a voice Jensen knows way too well.

When the door opens, to reveal a tall, fit specimen of man, Jensen’s mouth falls open.

“Oh my god, you're actually here.” It's the first thing Jared says to him.

“Holy shit you're hot.” Jensen isn't as coherent. He blushes and clears his throat.

“Right back at you,” Jared answers with ease. “Even more now that you don't look like a zombie,” he jokes.

Jensen chuckles. “Thanks.”

“Please, come in.” Jared moves to give him space to enter his apartment. Jensen is greeted by enthusiastic dogs right away. Jared presents them to Jensen, and then invites him to have dinner with him.

They spend the rest of the dinner talking about everything they hadn't before, and when it's time to go they both agree to see each other again.

“I had a lovely evening, thank you, Jared.”

“It was my pleasure.” Jared agrees, getting closer to Jensen until their faces are barely a few inches apart.

“And thank you, again, for saving my life.” Jensen whispers, and leans in, finally tasting the lips he's been wanting to try all evening.

The kiss starts with just a touch of lips, but it takes only second for both to need more, and soon Jensen is tasting the wine on Jared's tongue, and feeling his body tingle with anticipation. Jared cups his jaw with his hands to deepen the kiss, and Jensen’s knees almost give out under him. But he can't go anywhere because Jared has pressed his body to his, and he's trapped between the door and the heat coming from Jared. Desire pools in Jensen’s belly and he moans into Jared's mouth, hands on his shirt to drag him even closer.

Sadly, they need to breathe, and they come apart panting, mouths red kissed.

“Wow,” Jared is the first one to come out of the enchantment.

“Yeah,” Jensen answers.

“So, see you tomorrow?” Jared asks, giddy.

Jensen drags him back for a last sweet kiss. “See you tomorrow, cowboy.”

Jensen leaves with an extra bounce in his step, happy that his time with Jared is going to be longer than he ever expected it to be.

This is definitely the beginning of something magical. Jensen can feel it in his heart.

  
  


~Fin~

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading ♥


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